Does anyone know how to identify animal scat? Will the app do it? Or would it be better to post it here for identification?
Thanks in advance!
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hi @hbutkus, welcome to the iNaturalist forum. You can post photos of scat to iNaturalist through the app or at inaturalist.org (this forum is for discussing iNaturalist rather than for identification help). The computer vision feature can help with identification, then once it’s uploaded to iNaturalist the community can help fix or refine any of its suggested identifications.
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For North America, there’s a really good book by Mark Elbroch on mammal tracks and sign (including scat) that I’ve often used.
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I don’t know if it’s useful for identifications or not, but there is a project called Scatology.
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Some general pointers on taking photos for scat observations:
- Make sure you have a photo with something like a ruler or a coin for scale with the scat.
- Location (in the middle vs. edge of a trail, up on a log, near a creek, etc) can be important for ID, as can any marks the animal made on the ground around the scat, so make sure you have an overview photo that shows these things, or mention them in the notes.
- The fresher the scat the easier ID usually is, so if there is a fresh sample available, focus your photos on that.
- Once you have thoroughly documented the outside of the scat, please cut or break it open and try to get photos that show the contents. Is there any fur or bone? Any plant matter? Identifiable seeds or fruits? Etc.
- It is a good idea to take more photos than you actually plan to post. One may not show as much as you intended, or someone may ask, “Please add any photos that show the ends of the turds in more detail.”
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See if you have a local scat project, which you can join. (Our Southern Africa obs get a gentle reminder from the project - something for scale please?)
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